Hundreds of parents, grandparents, educators and students, gathered on the Minnesota State Capitol steps recently, not to protest but to praise. They were honoring about 50 students, ages 5-18, whose essays were selected as the best from more than 2,000 submitted. Asked to describe their “best day” in school, young people offered sometimes surprising, sometimes Read more »
“The rowdier you are, the more fun we’ll have.” That was one of the first things that Chloë Agnew, a member of the wildly popular singing group, “Celtic Woman” told Minnesotans attending their show recently. This was one of more than 60 shows they are doing around the U.S. this spring. Two hours later, hundreds Read more »
This is the story of a beloved public school teacher. It’s about Ron Moeller, who recently died at age 48. More than 300 parents, educators and students attended a spaghetti dinner and memorial service in his honor recently. At that service, St. Paul Elementary School teacher Joe Flahavan recalled that he and Moeller were “surrounded Read more »
Recently, Brenda Cassellius, Minnesota Commissioner of Education, met with the ECM Editorial Board of ECM Publishers in Coon Rapids. She recommended major, thoughtful changes in the way Minnesota teachers are evaluated. She also questioned how well principals have been trained to do this. Improving teacher assessment is part of the top seven priorities for the Read more »
In an encouraging display of bipartisan agreement recently, Minnesota legislators said, “yes” to collaboration between district and charter schools. Wisely, they said “no” to a proposal from the Lakes International Charter and the Forest Lake School District that was confusing and troubling. Collaboration can help participating faculty and students they serve. For example: • James Read more »
Things are getting pretty emotional as Minnesota legislators (and those in other states) talk about whether, how often and how to evaluate teachers and principals. For some, this is “teacher bashing.” For others, it is critical. Here’s how I see it, after 40 years in public education as a public school teacher, administrator, parent, PTA Read more »
How many references to “teacher bashing” turned up on a quick Google search? Would you believe about 2.6 million? For those not used to working on the Internet, Google is a quick way of gathering information on a particular subject. It’s clear that the term is used constantly. But I don’t think it helps anyone Read more »
How should youngsters in the Morrison County area go about finding a job? After reviewing more than 110 job applications, interviewing 10 and hiring two folks in the last 30 days, I learned a few things. Here are five suggestions. 1. Start with what the person or organization doing the hiring is looking for. I Read more »
A wise, well-planned and courageous proposal deserves strong support from the Little Falls, School Board Tuesday, March 22. That’s when they vote on Project REAL. The proposal from Superintendent Curt Tryggestad, would among other things: • Provide each student, grades 5-12, in the Little Falls district with an iPad; and • Provide each faculty member, Read more »
Would busy Little Falls, Pierz, Royalton and Upsala teachers classify veteran educational journalist John Merrow’s new book, the “Influence of Teachers,” as liberal or conservative, pro or anti-teacher? Probably not. Two of the best words are “pragmatic and provocative.” Merrow has huge respect for great teachers. He has won many national awards for his programs Read more »
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius are proposing a wise and historic change in Minnesota public education. They are recognizing reality: Minnesota has outstanding district and charter public schools. We need to honor and learn from them. So they have made a proposal to do that. In a recent conversation with Read more »
Tales from 25 education leaders last week described enormous, encouraging local energy focused on helping young people. This is a tribute to creative collaboration that’s taking place all over the state. Here are a few examples. Joel Swenson, Royalton High School principal wrote: “Our Technical Education classes have a good working relationship with area businesses, Read more »
Dozens of raised hands, and a new report from Minnesota Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius reflect good news. More Minnesota high school students are taking and passing challenging college level classes. Cassellius wisely praised the progress, and stressed the significant work left to do. The raised hands came when I asked about 50 emerging metro Read more »
Several people surprised me last week. They were critical of a principal and a superintendent who changed their minds. I’ll say more about these specific situations in a minute. But today I want to talk about people, including me, who make mistakes, or are challenged by people who disagree with their ideas. Let’s start with Read more »
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was direct when he spoke in Minnesota last week. While complimenting some of Minnesota’s reforms and education accomplishments, Duncan pointed out that we have one of the nation’s largest achievement gaps between whites and students of color. He is “shocked” that Minnesota does not have stronger “alternative routes” into Read more »
